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Końskie ( yi, Kinsk, קינצק / קינסק) is a town in south-central
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, also known as the Świętokrzyskie Province, and the Holy Cross Voivodeship ( pl, województwo świętokrzyskie ) is a voivodeship (province) of Poland situated in southeastern part of the country, in the histo ...
. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of
Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
, and since its foundation, until 1795 (see Partitions of Poland), it was part of Lesser Poland's
Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Polan ...
.


History

The oldest settlement which is now Końskie dates back to the 11th century. The burial ground from this period was discovered in the north part of the town in 1925. Końskie was mentioned in historical sources in 1124 for the first time, with Prandota of Prandocin (the progenitor of Odrowąż family) recorded as the owner of the settlement. For the next few centuries the settlement was owned by the Odrowąż family.
Iwo Odrowąż Iwo Odrowąż (died 21 August 1229) was a medieval Polish humanist, statesman, and bishop. Life Iwo was very probably born in Końskie, son of Szaweł Odrowąż and a member of the noble family of Odrowąż. He studied in Bologna and Paris, maint ...
, the bishop of
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, founded a parish and built a church dedicated to St. Nicholas in 1220–1224. The church was torn down in the 15th century and a new
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
one was built in its place in the years 1492–1520. Some elements of the older Romanesque church were saved in the new one (e.g. the Romanesque tympanum, pictured). Końskie received city rights from King
Augustus III of Poland Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Aug ...
on December 30, 1748.BIP Miasta i Gminy Końskie
It was a
private town A private town is a town owned by a private person or a family. History of Private Towns in Poland In the history of Poland, private towns (''miasta prywatne'') were towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights, princes, etc. ...
, administratively located in the Żarnów County in the
Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Polan ...
in the Lesser Poland Province.


World War II

During the joint German-Soviet
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
, which started
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1939, the town was invaded and then occupied by Germany, and the '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered to commit various crimes against the population. Końskie was briefly visited by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
on September 10, 1939, while on the way to Kielce after landing on an airfield nearby. His car cavalcade visited the headquarters of General
Walther von Reichenau Walter Karl Ernst August von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Reichenau commanded the 6th Army, during the invasions of Belgium and France. During Ope ...
at the local mansion. Hitler was followed by director
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
who came a day later, ordered to film the Nazi German victory over Poland. Reportedly, she fainted when witnessing the random killing of two dozen Jews summoned to dig graves on September 12, 1939
pictured
. On September 11, 1939, the Germans carried out mass arrests of around 5,000 men over the age of 18 in the town and its vicinity after finding the bodies of a German general, three policemen and two soldiers.Wardzyńska, p. 119 Then they accused and murdered 20 Poles, however, a following German investigation proved that the German general was not murdered, but died in a battle. Polish inhabitants of Końskie were also among Poles massacred by the Germans in the nearby village of
Stadnicka Wola Stadnicka Wola is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Końskie, within Końskie County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately south of Końskie and north-west of the regional capital Kielce. ...
in April 1940. In 1941–1943, the Germans operated a
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
for Soviet and Norwegian POWs in the town. About 26,000 POWs passed through the camp, 23,000 of whom either were murdered or died of starvation or epidemics. The Polish resistance movement organized escapes for the camp inmates. Końskie was the centre of Polish underground resistance during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with battles fought by the Armia Krajowa under Major
Henryk Dobrzański Major Henryk Dobrzański (22 June 1897 – 30 April 1940) was a Polish soldier, sportsman and partisan. He fought in the Polish Legions in World War I, Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918, the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921 and the Polish Sept ...
("Hubal") in the nearby forests which the German army feared to enter. The town was taken over by the partisans for a few hours on the night of September 1, 1943, with a number of
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
agents assassinated. Cezary Chlebowski, ''Pozdrówcie Góry Świętokrzyskie'' Czytelnik, Warszawa 1981, pp. 259-262 and 265-266 The Nazi Germans retaliated by executing civilians including Jews. B. Kacperski, J. Z. Wroniszewski, ''Konspiracja konecka 43-45'', Końskie 2006 In 1944, during and following the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...
, the Germans deported thousands of Varsovians from the Dulag 121 camp in
Pruszków Pruszków ( yi, ‏פּרושקאָוו) is a city in east-central Poland, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County, located along t ...
, where they were initially imprisoned, to Końskie. Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children. 24,000 Poles expelled from
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
stayed in the town, as of 1 November 1944.


Jewish history of Końskie

The first mention of the Jewish community in Końskie dates to the 16th century. The pre World War II
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population of Końskie (known as Koinsk during the Russian occupation or Kinsk in
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
– קינצק / קינסק) comprised 60.6% of the total population of the town or about 6,500 persons as of September 1939. The town's Jewish cemetery was founded in the 17th century, and expanded to span two hectares with the last burial in 1943. After the
Nazi German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
, a
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
was established in 1940 and closed off in the spring of 1941. The Jews of Końskie and Polish prisoners from Końskie and surrounding towns were forced to dig up the graves, which were used in the construction of pig farms, the Modliszewicach spire, and walls in Końskie and nearby villages. The cemetery was also used as a place of execution for both Jews and Poles. The complete eradication of the Jewish population of Końskie took place on November 3–9, 1942, when all men, women, and children were loaded into cattle cars to
Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...
II and gassed. Approximately 600 Jews were murdered by the Nazis on the way to the
camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
. In the subsequent January 1943 "Aktion" in the Konskie Ghetto, the remaining Jews were ferreted out from attics and other hiding places and murdered. The Germans imprisoned several Poles in the local prison, and then deported them to
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
for rescuing Jews. Koinsk appears under the name Bociany as the setting for Chava Rosenfarb's Yiddish language novel of the same name. Bociany was published in English in the author's own translation by Syracuse University Press 2000. The translation won the John Glassco Award for Literary Translation in 2000. The Koinsk Organization of Israel ("Ha'Ayarah She'Li: Sefer Ha'Zikaron Le'Yehudei Konskiyah, Hebrew, 2001) commemorates the tragic death of the Jews of Konskie every year at The Diaspora Museum close to the 25th of the Jewish month of Cheshvan."Ha'arayah She'li: Sefer Zikaron Le'Yehudei Konskiyah-Kinsk-Konsk" by the Irgun Yotzei Koinsk


Recent history

In 1975–1998, the town was administratively located in the
Kielce Voivodeship Kielce Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kieleckie) is a former unit of administrative division and the local government in Poland. It was originally formed during Poland's return to independence in the aftermath of World War One, and recreated within ...
. Most of the town labour force was employed in the local foundry (Koneckie Zakłady Odlewnicze) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since 1997 the town has developed into a major trade centre for small business.


Notable buildings and landmarks

* Classicistic Palace and park complex founded by
Jan Małachowski Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...
of the
Nałęcz coat-of-arms Nałęcz may refer to: * Nałęcz, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in north-central Poland * Tomasz Nałęcz Tomasz Nałęcz (born 10 October 1949 in Gołymin) is a Polish historian, leftist politician, former vice-Speaker of the Se ...
in the 17th century (based on
Pillnitz Pillnitz is a quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle. Pillnitz is most famous for its Baroque palace and park, the Pillnitz Castle. Pillnitz Palace consists of the Riversi ...
complex) includes ** Egyptian
orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...
(''Egipcjanka'') ** Greek Temple (now theatre) **
Gloriette A gloriette (from the 12th-century French ''gloire'' meaning "little room") is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. The structural execution and shape can vary greatly, often in the form ...
**
Gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...
(''Altanka'') ** Two Palace wings (now residence of the municipal council) ** Memorial to local Polish scouts killed during World War II ** Community building turned into a pig slaughterhouse by the SS, with Jewish gravestones from the Konskie Jewish cemetery. * Late Gothic church of Saint Nicholas, 1492, with the Romanesque tympanum from the 13th century. The parish is led by Pralat Zapart *
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
church of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anne * Monuments of Polish national heroes
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
and
Henryk Dobrzański Major Henryk Dobrzański (22 June 1897 – 30 April 1940) was a Polish soldier, sportsman and partisan. He fought in the Polish Legions in World War I, Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918, the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921 and the Polish Sept ...
* Spire, built by the SS with Jewish gravestones from the Konskie Jewish cemetery. * Cemetery for the German soldiers killed in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, respected along with the Polish one * Home of Jankiel Pelta at ul. Pilsudskiego 42 (38 Maja-ego 3 till the change of address after World War II) * Końskie Synagogue built 1684, burned in 1939. Its embers and metal remnants remain in Końskie.


Sports

The local
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team is . It competes in the lower leagues.


Notable people

*
Iwo Odrowąż Iwo Odrowąż (died 21 August 1229) was a medieval Polish humanist, statesman, and bishop. Life Iwo was very probably born in Końskie, son of Szaweł Odrowąż and a member of the noble family of Odrowąż. He studied in Bologna and Paris, maint ...
(died 1229) a medieval Polish humanist, statesman, and bishop. * Stanisław Małachowski (1736–1809) the first
Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...
in 1807. *
Jacek Małachowski Jacek Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (1737–1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician and administrator as well as Polish chancellor. He was Crown Deputy Master of the Pantry since 1764. Referendary of the Crown in 1764-1780, Deput ...
(1737–1821) a Polish nobleman, politician and administrator *
Yoav Yehoshua Weingarten Yoav Yehoshua Weingarten (1845-1923) was a prominent rabbi and author of Torah commentaries. Education Weingarten was the son of Rabbi Nosson Nota and Rivkah Weingarten. Weingarten began his studies with Rabbi Zev Nachum Borenstein in Biała, co ...
(1845-1923) rabbi of Kintzk, 1894 to 1923 & author of
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
commentaries. *
Sławomir Lachowski Sławomir Lachowski (born 1 January 1958 in Końskie, Poland) is a Polish manager who works in the banking industry in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Education Lachowski graduated with distinction from the Foreign Trade faculty of th ...
(born 1958) banker, founded mBank, the first internet bank in the region. *
Andrzej Szejna Andrzej Jan Szejna (; born 28 April 1973, in Końskie) is a Politics of Poland, Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Lesser Poland Voivodeship & Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship with the Democratic Left Alliance-Lab ...
(born 1973) a Polish politician and MEP


International relations


Twin towns – Sister cities

Końskie is twinned with: *
Šaľa Šaľa (; hu, Vágsellye, german: Schelle) is a town in south-western Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on both banks of the Váh River, around 65 km from Bratislava and 30 km from Nové Zámky. Except t ...
, Slovakia *
Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion of the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...


References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Konskie Cities and towns in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Końskie County 11th-century establishments in Poland Populated places established in the 11th century Sandomierz Voivodeship Radom Governorate Kielce Voivodeship (1919–1939) Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939) Holocaust locations in Poland Nazi war crimes in Poland